Game of Thronesthe TV series inspired by the saga of novels by George RR Martin, is universally considered one of the best fantasy TV series ever. For eight seasons he kept viewers glued to the screen with power struggles, epic fights and brutal deaths involving the Houses of the fictional world of Westeros. Now four years on from airing the divisive TV series finale, the franchise is more alive than ever thanks to a spin-off that has proved more than worthy of the original TV series. We are talking about House of the Dragon, the prequel focused on the history of the Targaryens and the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. In the past Game of Thrones it launched the fame of many actors who thanks to the show have become world stars such as Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa.
But fame can also have negative implications: Faye Marsay knows it well that in the years she was on the air Game of Thrones she was forced to withdraw from social media due to haters.
Fans, when they get hooked on a story and start rooting for their favorite characters, can become very protective of them. It can therefore happen that some fanatic goes to insult the actors who are playing the villains of the story on social networks. And this is what happened in 2015 to Faye Marsay, who played Waif in the fifth and sixth seasons of the fantasy TV series. His character made Arya Stark’s life hell and even tried to kill her, while the girl was training to become one of the Faceless Men in the free city of Braavos. The fans therefore did not appreciate Waif’s behavior at all and began to insult the actress on social networks. The backlash has been massive to the point of push Faye Marsay to step back and step away from social media during those years. In fact, he said in an interview with The Independent:
“After the release of Game of Thrones, there was some pretty intense backlash at one point. Just because of the character I was playing. Fans hated her. Because the character of Maisie (Williams) was, like, everyone’s favorite — and then there was me hitting her with a stick.“
Despite everything, work in Game of Thrones for her it was a wonderful experience that gave her a thriving career on the small screen. After the HBO fantasy TV series, in fact in 2016 it arrived Black Mirror and then last year Andor. But most of all Game of Thrones he taught her how dangerous social media can be and even now that she uses it regularly, she recognizes the risks. Indeed, she concluded:
“Social media can be a brutal tool, and we all know it. Look at the mental health crisis young people are going through right now – it’s not just because of the pandemic or teenage angst!“
